1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sealing member for sealing an opening of a container, and a container having the opening sealed with the sealing member, the container having a hole for taking out the sealing member when the sealing member is unsealed.
2. Discussion of the Background Art
A sealing member for sealing an opening of a container is well known. For example, a sealing member has been used on a toner container, toner hopper, and the like, and incorporated to a machine such as a copying machine, a facsimile machine, a printer, and the like, which is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 4-136961/1992 (hereinafter referred to as background art 1), Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 5-80653/1993 (background art 2), Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 5-197287/1993 (background art 3), Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 5-204246/1993 (background art 4), and Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 7-121019 (background art 5).
The sealing member disclosed in the aforementioned background arts 3 and 4 is mounted so that the sealing member seals the opening from one end towards another end, and from one end to approximately a middle part of the sealing member having an adhesive portion, and a rest of the sealing member which exceeds the length of the opening in a longitudinal direction is folded back to the side of the first end of the sealing member, and a folding portion at a side end of the opening is used as a knob portion for operation (a leader for pinching the sealing member). That is, the opening is constructed so that the sealing member can be removed from the opening by pulling out the sealing member and pinching the knob portion thereof, when the sealing member is unsealed.
An example of such a sealing member is shown in FIG. 31. Referring to FIG. 31, edge portions of four sides of a pulling-out seal 104 as a sealing member are adhered to a seal adhering-face 103 of a toner-supplying outlet 102 formed on a toner case 101 as a toner container supplying toner to a developing device (not shown). Thereby, the toner-supplying outlet 102 is sealed. When the seal of the toner-supplying outlet 102 is unsealed, an operator pulls out the pulling-out seal 104 in a direction indicated by a white arrow shown in FIG. 31, pinching the knob-end 104a thereof. Thereby, the pulling-out seal 104 is peeled off from the seal adhering-face 103 on the backside of the toner case 101, and the seal of the toner-supplying outlet 102 is unsealed.
However, a sealing face of the sealing member 104 which faces the contents (for example, a developer such as toner) inside the toner case 101 is externally exposed when the sealing member 104 is unsealed by being peeled off, and at a time of throwing away the sealing member. As a result, toner taken off from the opening (toner-supplying outlet 102) of the toner case 101 in this kind of sealing member 104 has a strong possibility of dirtying an operator""s hands, clothing, and the like, with contents (for example, toner, or the like developer) which are stuck to the sealing-face of sealing member 104.
In contrast, a sealing member can be constructed to be made of a sheet-like shape having an opening at a part which can be wound so that open/close operations of the sealing member are automatically performed by moving the sealing member to the opening of the toner container. Such a device for winding a sealing member is disclosed in the aforementioned background art 1, and in this disclosed construction the toner-supplying outlet 102 of the toner hopper is sealed with an end of the sealing member, and another end of the sealing member is fixed at an agitation member in the toner hopper. Further, a sealing member is wound with a rotation of the agitation member in the aforementioned background art 2. Since in this art the open/close operations of the sealing member are automatically performed, and the sealing member can be easily wound at a side of the container after an unsealing operation is performed, there is less possibility that the operator""s hand and clothing is dirtied with the contents (for example, a developer such as toner) stuck to the opening sealing-face of the sealing member.
However, these background arts 1 and 2 have a complicated construction and the mounting method of the sealing member is not easy, and manufacturing costs may be increased accordingly.
Furthermore, the background art 5 is another art relevant to a sealing method for sealing an opening of a toner container with a sealing member. This art discloses a device such that when an opening of a toner container is sealed, an elastic element sheet is detachably mounted at an end of a longitudinal direction of an inserting member, and the elastic element sheet is led to a position for sealing the opening by penetrating the inserting member through a gap between the toner container and a developing device frame. Subsequently, the opening of the toner container is sealed as if the elastic element sheet is detached from the inserting member. However, since this operation procedure is complicated and the operation includes many steps, this method is not considered practical.
On the other hand, in a cartridge as a container, such as a toner cartridge or a process cartridge, having a construction in which an opening of a developer containing section for containing toner or the like developer as contents is sealed with the aforementioned sealing member, a seal taking-out hole for taking out the sealing member when the sealing member is unsealed is formed on the side of the cartridge housing. A maximum size of the seal taking-out hole formed on the side portion of the cartridge housing has been hitherto formed larger than a width of the sealing section that is rectangular to the opening direction of the sealing member so that the aforementioned sealing member can be pulled out with relative ease. However, the seal taking-out hole formed on the side portion of the container, such as the cartridge, is in a state of being connected to the containing section in an opening state of the opening of the containing section for the contents such as the developer after the sealing member is unsealed.
Accordingly, there is a problem that if the seal taking-out hole is kept open, contents contained in the containing section flow out through the seal taking-out hole formed on the side portion of the container in this kind of hitherto provided container. Therefore, in this kind of hitherto provided container, the seal taking-out hole is sealed with the taking-out hole sealing member for preventing the flowing out of the contents from the seal taking-out hole of the container after the opening of the container is opened by pulling out the sealing member via the seal taking-out hole. However, if a size of the seal taking-out hole of the container is large, a pressure of the contents contained in the container forced to flow out from the seal taking-out hole becomes high, and accordingly, there is a problem in which a sealing performance of the taking-out hole sealing member that seals the seal taking-out hole deteriorates.
Further, in a case that a shape and a size of the opening of the container are different, the shape and the size of the seal taking-out member for sealing the opening are different, and the shape and the size of the seal taking-out hole individually is in a different shape and size corresponding to the shape and the size of the sealing member. Accordingly, in hitherto used containers, the taking-out hole sealing members having individually a different shape and size are required to be prepared corresponding to the shape and the size of the seal taking-out holes, and therefore, there has been a problem that selection of the sealing member for the taking-out hole becomes complicated.
The present invention is made in light of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel container and sealing member having a simple and inexpensive construction capable of preventing dirtying of an operator""s hands, clothing, and the like, due to contacting contents of a developer container stuck to a sealing member.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a novel container capable of suppressing flowing-out of its contents, and for which it is easy to select a sealing member for a taking-out hole that is additionally required.
As one feature, the novel sealing member is provided for sealing an opening of a container in which an opening sealing-face of the sealing member facing contents in the container is formed into a shape without being externally exposed, in accordance with an unsealing operation of the sealing member.
The novel sealing member can include a leader for pinching the sealing member when the sealing member is peeled off from a container, and the leader can extend outside of the container through a seal guide hole for forming the sealing member so that the opening sealing-face is formed into a shape without being externally exposed. A container can include an opening sealed with the novel sealing member, and a seal taking-out hole for taking out the sealing member when the opening is unsealed. A maximum measure of the seal taking-out hole can be formed into a size smaller than a width of a sealing portion rectangular to an unsealing direction of the sealing member. Further, a convex portion having a shape such that a face of the sealing member can be bent can be mounted on the seal taking-out hole. A covering portion can be provided for covering the opening sealing-face along with an unsealing operation for the opening from an end portion. The sealing member can also be formed into a cylindrical shape with a flexible material, and a part of the outer peripheral face of the sealing member seals the opening.
In a further feature, the novel sealing member can be composed of a lower sheet for sealing an opening of a container capable of being peeled off and an upper sheet fixed on the lower sheet with a pair of parts extending respectively in a peeling off direction, facing each other, in which an opening sealing face of the lower sheet which faces contents in the container when the opening is sealed enters between the lower sheet and the upper sheet during a peeling off operation of the sealing member from an end portion of the opening.
The novel container can also include an opening sealed with a sealing member having a leader, and a seal taking-out hole for taking out the sealing member when the opening is unsealed, in which the seal taking-out hole is sealed with a seal taking-out hole sealing member for preventing leakage and scattering of contents from the seal taking-out hole due to an unsealing of the opening by removing the sealing member, in which the taking-out hole sealing member is previously mounted at the seal taking-out hole of a container, preventing leakage and scattering of the contents, having a seal insertion hole for inserting the sealing member, in a state of the leader of the sealing member being externally exposed from the container through the seal insertion hole.